I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 706: Chapter 433: Seed Character (2)

Duan Rong was suddenly filled with exasperation and complained, “Master, I know I can’t stop you. But can’t you change this habit of appearing silently behind people? If this continues, sooner or later I’ll get scared sick by you.”

Zhu He’s face unexpectedly showed a slightly embarrassed expression and he laughed, “I’m here because I have something urgent to discuss with you. You know, desperate times, desperate measures.”

Duan Rong sighed, looked at Zhu He, and respectfully said, “May I ask, Master, what is the matter you seek your disciple for?”

Zhu He, seeing Duan Rong’s obedient demeanor, was extremely pleased. He sat down on a stone chair, looked at Duan Rong, and said, “Duan, sit down. Let’s have a teacher-disciple talk.”

Duan Rong stood there, clasped his fists, and bowed, “Disciple dares not!”

“What are you afraid of? When your master tells you to sit, you sit. No need to worry about these outdated formalities.”

Duan Rong could tell Zhu He genuinely wanted him to sit, but how could he sit on equal footing with Zhu He without overstepping boundaries? His eyes flickered, he stacked two mats, old and new, and sat not far from Zhu He, making it seem he was sitting lower than Zhu He.

Duan Rong smiled and said, “Master, is it alright if I sit like this?”

Zhu He glanced at him, and the smile on his face faded as he solemnly asked, “Duan, tell me, what’s the matter between you and that girl Lv Qingzhu? Why does she want to kill you?”

“I…” Duan Rong was momentarily lost for words.

Zhu He said, “Boy, don’t think I’m prying into your secrets. That girl’s backer is an ancestor, even I have to give her some leeway. If you don’t tell me the truth, how can I help you settle this matter?”

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong felt a slight warmth in his heart. He could feel from Zhu He’s demeanor and tone that he was genuinely concerned Lv Qingzhu might kill him.

Duan Rong hesitated briefly, then explained the whole situation to Zhu He as it happened.

After hearing it, Zhu He’s face turned indecisive.

No wonder Lv Qingzhu wants to kill this boy.

Initially, he wanted Fan Hongjiao to step in and mediate, but under these circumstances, there was simply no way to mediate.

If Fan Hongjiao mediated, it would only deepen Lv Qingzhu’s resentment.

Because the last thing Lv Qingzhu wanted was for the public to know about this matter.

If she found out someone else knew about this secret, wouldn’t she hate Duan Rong even more?

However, there’s a good side to this; in a matter like this, Lv Qingzhu probably wouldn’t tell others. Plus, with her aloof and icy personality, she certainly wouldn’t use others to kill Duan Rong.

That means the only way is for her to do it herself, which makes it somewhat easier to guard against.

Since the situation can’t be resolved, apart from defense, there’s no other way.

Zhu He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly took something out of his sleeve and handed it to Duan Rong, saying in a deep voice, “Duan, take this.”

Seeing what Zhu He offered, Duan Rong immediately accepted it respectfully and looked into his palm.

It was a cicada.

The cicada was completely clear, seemingly made of water, and its surface was incredibly vibrant. As the lustrous light shifted, ancient runes appeared and disappeared on its surface.

One look and it was clear this was no ordinary object!

Duan Rong raised his head to look at Zhu He.

Zhu He said, “This is a Dew-drinking Cicada.”

“Dew-drinking Cicada?” Duan Rong’s eyes flickered slightly.

Zhu He said, “But this cicada drinks not ordinary dew, but Dew of Law!”

“Dew of Law?” Duan Rong was astonished upon hearing this. He lowered his head to look again at the cicada in his hand, seeing something within it faintly flowing, although it had no substance, only a changing sheen across the cicada’s surface.

Duan Rong looked at Zhu He with surprise and doubt, asking, “May I ask, Master, what is Dew of Law?”

Zhu He said, “As your master, I’ve condensed the Power of Law into dew, which is the Dew of Law. This dew is what the cicada drinks.”

Duan Rong’s astonishment deepened upon hearing this.

Zhu He gave him a glance and said, “Are you wondering how the Power of Law, so profound and lofty, can be consumed by a cicada?”

Duan Rong nodded and said, “This is precisely the doubt in my heart, Master, please enlighten me.”

Zhu He said, “Have you noticed the runes on the cicada’s body, which appear and disappear at times?”

Duan Rong nodded.

Zhu He said, “Do you know what those runes are?”

Duan Rong said, “I do not know, but since Master mentioned these runes, it indicates that the cicada can drink the Dew of Law because of them.”

Zhu He looked at Duan Rong with a look of approval and said, “Precisely! Look closely, those runes are actually individual characters.”

“Individual characters?”

Duan Rong’s eyes gleamed, and he looked at the cicada’s body in his hand for a while. Indeed, as Zhu He said, with the flickering light, the runes that appeared were indeed individual characters, not connected. However, those characters were very ancient and obscure; although they were characters, Duan Rong did not recognize them.

Duan Rong concentrated his Divine Soul and focused on a certain character. As soon as he did so, a terrifying wild aura immediately enveloped him.

In that moment, his whole body felt cold, his mind trembled, as if he had seen some great horror, and he could not help but shiver.

Just then, a warm sensation suddenly rose in the center of his brow, and only then did the terror slowly recede like a tide.

Duan Rong suddenly realized that at some point he was already in a cold sweat. Only when Zhu He saw his eyes regain clarity did he lift his thumb from the center of his brow, the pad of which had an eerie sheen that flickered away the moment he lifted it.

Duan Rong looked fearful and dared not focus his gaze on the cicada body in his hand again.

Zhu He said sternly, “Do not inject your Divine Soul into those characters!”

Duan Rong asked, “Master, what kind of characters are these on the cicada’s body? I do not recognize them.”

Zhu He said, “Of course, you don’t recognize them. Even I don’t recognize them, let alone you.”

Duan Rong said in surprise, “You don’t recognize them either, Master?”

Zhu He nodded and said, “These characters are Seed Characters! They are where the Heavenly Dao Origin resides. First came the Seed Characters, then came the Law. These Seed Characters are the origin coexisting with the Heavenly Dao. Under the Heavenly Dao, all the myriad laws emerge from Seed Characters! Therefore, they are also called the Source of Tao!”

“Seed Characters? Source of Tao?!” Duan Rong, though well-read in scriptures, had never heard these two words before.

Zhu He said, “You can understand it roughly like this. The so-called Seed Characters are the result of the interweaving fusion of two or more Powers of Law! But the true mystery of the Seed Characters can only be understood by cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm. Even I am just scratching the surface, seeing flowers in the fog.”

Duan Rong sat there as if petrified, unable to say a word for a long time.

Zhu He continued, “Each Seed Character contains two or more Powers of Law. Moreover, each Seed Character has its own pronunciation!”

“Has its own pronunciation?!” Duan Rong’s eyes flashed with deep confusion.

Zhu He said, “Yes. It is a Heaven and Earth Primordial Sound, not a sound that the throat and vocal cords can produce. When this sound is emitted, it can resonate with the Heavenly Dao. Only cultivators of the Nascent Soul Realm can use the Nascent Soul Power to produce this sound.”

Zhu He looked at Duan Rong and said, “By this point, you probably already understand. The reason this cicada can drink the Dew of Law is that the Seed Characters on its surface, which appear and disappear at times, are an existence more fundamental than the Law. This cicada’s body was refined by the Patriarch, and I infused the Dew of Law to feed it until it finally became this object.”

“Refined by the Patriarch?”

Zhu He said, “If not for the cultivation in the Nascent Soul Realm, how could one grasp the mysteries of these Seed Characters?”

Duan Rong stood up from the two mats, holding the Dew-drinking Cicada in his hands, and said, “This object is so precious that I dare not accept it.”

Zhu He said, “This object is meant to be your life-saving device. Use Essence Blood to nurture it, and in ten days, this cicada will be linked to your life. In times of danger, with a mere thought, it will spit out dew to protect you with the power of the Law three times!”

Duan Rong’s eyes showed a hint of surprise, and suddenly, with a thud, he knelt down on the ground, exclaiming, “Master, such great kindness, Duan Rong cannot repay even with a hundred deaths!”

Zhu He smiled as he helped Duan Rong up, patting him on the shoulder and said, “What’s this talk about death? Repaying your master’s kindness is done by cultivating well. Your master is waiting for the day you form your Nascent Soul, to bring honor to me!”

Duan Rong said, “Master, I’m only in the Primordial Qi Realm, how can I form a Nascent Soul already?”

Zhu He said, “Yes, yes. Take it slow. In the coming days, stay in the chamber and refine this object with Essence Blood.”

Duan Rong said, “I obey, Master!”

“Alright. I’m leaving now.” After Zhu He finished speaking, he walked slowly to a stone wall, and as the wall wriggled like a living entity, his entire figure merged into the stone wall and vanished.

Afterward, the stone wall returned to its original appearance.